Russian terrorists used almost 190 missiles, about 140 “Shahed” drones and almost 700 guided aerial bombs this week – address by the President of Ukraine

24 March 2024 – 20:40

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

First, I would like to thank our defenders of the sky. I am grateful to all the warriors of the mobile firing groups, our aviation, the Air Defense Forces of the Ground Forces, and all the specialists of our electronic warfare. Thank you for every missile shot down, for every downed “Shahed” drone.

Of course, our sky shield requires significant strengthening. We are working on this with all our partners whose decisions can change the nature of this war and protect our cities and villages from terror. But already now, our warriors are shooting down at least some of the missiles and most of the “Shahed” drones.

Over the past week, from Monday to today, Russian terrorists have used nearly 190 missiles of various types and almost 140 “Shahed” drones. Also, they launched almost 700 guided aerial bombs. There has not been a single week in the more than 2 years of this war when Russia refrained from terror. And we are doing our best to make sure that the occupation contingent feels our quite fair response to this terror in the same way – every week, every day.

I am grateful to all of our heroes who destroy enemy logistics in the occupied territories. Those who clear Crimea and the Black Sea of the occupiers’ presence. This is a difficult task, but our warriors are completing it step by step. Everyone sees it.

And, of course, I would like to express my special gratitude to all units of our Defense and Security Forces that reduce Russia’s war potential. The less money Putin’s system makes, the stronger the sanctions against it and the physical destruction of Russia’s war potential, the sooner Ukraine, our Europe, and the world will feel safe again.

Restoration work is underway in some of our regions after the Russian strikes on Friday night. I am grateful to everyone who is working non-stop in Kharkiv to restore electricity and heat supply to people. The situation is extremely difficult. More than 200,000 customers – apartments and houses – in the city of Kharkiv and one of the districts of the region are without stable power supply and are subject to rather tough electricity schedules. Local authorities, all services and the government clearly understand the timeframe and technical basis for normalizing the situation. In other regions, electricity supply has been restored to all consumers. I am grateful to everyone who ensured this result and to everyone in the world, all our partners, who supported Ukraine after such a heinous attack against our energy sector.

One more thing.

This week yielded many results in relations with partners. The European Union has approved a €5 billion Ukraine Assistance Fund. This will significantly contribute to our defense. There is a new €4.5 billion macro-financial tranche from the European Union. There is also a decision on a new IMF tranche – almost $900 million. Canada has provided 2 billion Canadian dollars in macro-financial direct budgetary support.

There are good results in terms of defense support packages as well, with both received packages and new ones announced. These include artillery, drones, and armored vehicles. I have also just spoken with Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez. We focused on air defense for Ukraine, as we need more systems. We also discussed our cooperation with Spain at the bilateral level and in European institutions. I am grateful to Spain for its unwavering support and our shared belief that life must prevail.

The key is not to grow weary, not to reduce our activity, not to lose faith in Ukraine, in our people, and in our ability to convey to the world that the enemy of human life has no right to win – Putin has no right to win. He must lose the ability to destroy the lives of others. This is the only way to ensure the common security of our people, of all Europeans, of the whole world. I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine! Glory to all our warriors, to all our people!

Glory to Ukraine!

First some good news:

Great news 🔥
-2 russian ships.
Overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force successfully struck "Yamal" and "Azov" Ropucha-class landing ships in temporarily occupied Sevastopol.
In addition, the russian Black Sea Fleet's communications center and several infrastructure facilities were… pic.twitter.com/EdGhK18nxf

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 24, 2024

Great news 🔥
-2 russian ships.
Overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force successfully struck “Yamal” and “Azov” Ropucha-class landing ships in temporarily occupied Sevastopol.
In addition, the russian Black Sea Fleet’s communications center and several infrastructure facilities were hit.

Bravo! Crimea is Ukraine!

Anne Applebaum is correct:

"It's a really extraordinary moment, we have an out-of-power ex-president who is in effect, dictating American foreign policy on behalf of a foreign dictator or with the interests of a foreign dictator in mind," @anneapplebaum tells @JeffreyGoldberg. pic.twitter.com/sXACvl4mnT

— Washington Week with The Atlantic | PBS (@washingtonweek) March 23, 2024

This is what happens when you treat an ongoing revolt against the federal government and the constitution, led by the former president and his key surrogates and allies, as if it is an ordinary criminal case. Sure the DOJ has arrested, prosecuted, and gotten convictions of six hundred or so dumbasses and a dozen more serious actors from the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. But at the end of the day, the leaders of this revolt, who planned and led the insurrection on 6 January 2021, have either not been arrested, are never going to be arrested, or are unlikely to ever actually be prosecuted or convicted. None of the members of the GOP House caucus that we know were involved have been charged. And we know there were at least a half dozen. Same for the Senators. That the DOJ treated PA Representative Scott Perry’s claim that his planning and conspiring with the President, as well as other leaders of the insurrection and rebellion like Bannon and Giuliani and Ginni Thomas is somehow covered under the Speech and Debate clause of the constitution is just absurd. You have a member of Congress who is also a brigadier general in open revolt against the federal government and DOJ reluctantly seized his phones and has sat on them for well over a year because Perry claims his activities are covered under the Speech and Debate clause. That’s just preposterous. If a state or the administration of a state cannot or will not defend itself against open revolt then it isn’t much of a state or an administration.

And now more on the Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets.

For the third pre-dawn morning this week, all of Ukraine is under an air alert and has been advised to seek shelter. Russia continues to indiscriminately launch drones and missiles with no regard for millions of civilians, violating international law.

— U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (@USAmbKyiv) March 24, 2024

If only you were the ambassador for the nation-state with the most powerful military in history, which is also a member of the most powerful military alliance in history. Then, perhaps, you might be able to do something more than tweet.

Like this:

JUST IN:
In response to the violation of Polish airspace, a NATO official says “NATO has significantly enhanced our posture on our eastern flank, including with allied jets to protect Polish skies. We continue to assess our posture and remain ready protect and defend all allies.”

— Teri Schultz (@terischultz) March 24, 2024

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister gets it!

We should be sending a very clear message that the next time a missile violates NATO airspace, it will be taken down. pic.twitter.com/Q15aOBKdqZ

— Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) March 24, 2024

Poland:

"The decision resulted from information from our radar systems. The assessment of the missile's trajectory, speed and altitude indicated that it would leave our airspace," Operational Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Jacek Goryszewski said.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 24, 2024

⚡️Warsaw to ‘demand explanations’ from Moscow after Russian missile entered Polish airspace.

Poland will demand explanations from Moscow after a Russian missile violated the Polish airspace during the mass attack against Ukraine on the morning of March 24, the Polish Foreign…

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 24, 2024

⚡️Warsaw to ‘demand explanations’ from Moscow after Russian missile entered Polish airspace.

Poland will demand explanations from Moscow after a Russian missile violated the Polish airspace during the mass attack against Ukraine on the morning of March 24, the Polish Foreign Ministry said. The Russian cruise missile entered Poland’s airspace for 39 seconds, Jacek Siewiera, chief of Poland’s National Security Bureau, said on X.

Kyiv:

Air raid alerts are announced throughout Ukraine. Explosions in Kyiv are reported.

📷: Tania Myronyshena on Instagram
This is Ukrainians’ reality. pic.twitter.com/43AwgFoZuC

— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) March 24, 2024

There's about 60,000 people in Kyiv metro stations right now while Russian missiles attempt to hit the city. pic.twitter.com/udGmtPxwYg

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) March 24, 2024

I am getting a little tired of waking up to explosions shaking the entire goddamn city in the early hours of the fucking morning, not gonna lie.

— Oleksandra Povoroznyk 🇺🇦 (@rynkrynk) March 24, 2024

Kharkiv:

⚡️Mayor: Russian attacks destroy thermal power plant, all substations in Kharkiv.

Russian missile and drone attacks have destroyed a thermal power plant and all the electrical substations in Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov told national television on March 24. He also said that…

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 24, 2024

⚡️Mayor: Russian attacks destroy thermal power plant, all substations in Kharkiv.

Russian missile and drone attacks have destroyed a thermal power plant and all the electrical substations in Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov told national television on March 24. He also said that electricity supply had been restored for approximately 40% of Kharkiv residents. Meanwhile, heating has been restored in 60% of the buildings, and almost all of them have water supply, according to Terekhov.

 

Kharkiv is facing critical electricity outage affecting 60% of households. Transportation is disrupted, emergency services resort to speakerphones for air raid alerts. With 1.3 million residents, damage to power system is severe. pic.twitter.com/wiTPa1fKeI

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) March 24, 2024

"The destruction is very serious. All transformer substations and a thermal power plant have been destroyed," said Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv, regarding the power situation in the city.

— Iryna Voichuk (@IrynaVoichuk) March 24, 2024

For two years, this has been the view from my bedroom windows in Kharkiv. Few residents secure their windows like this, but I can't sleep without it. I'm aware that cardboard and scotch tape won't likely shield me from glass shards, yet it brings me a semblance of peace. pic.twitter.com/Ft4yXKRzG7

— Iryna Voichuk (@IrynaVoichuk) March 24, 2024

60% of Kharkiv remains without electricity after the massive Russian missile attack. The Food Train 🚂🧑‍🍳 team has been working non-stop to get meals out to the community—now cooking 9,000 meals per day. As the train says, “No one will take our power away!” ⚡️🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/sELWvu8RIE

— Nate Mook (@natemook) March 24, 2024

Lviv:

According to Kozytskyi, 61 firefighters worked from early morning until after 5 p.m. local time to put out the fire.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 24, 2024

Russian cruise missile strikes hit something in the Lvov region #Russia #UkraineRussianWar pic.twitter.com/b1Cp8oWPsD

— War Tracker (@wartracker4) March 24, 2024

Russian occupied Donetsk Oblast:

⚡️3 injured in attack on Donetsk Oblast.

Russian strikes in Krasnohorivka, Donetsk Oblast, injured at least three people, according to the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office on March 24.https://t.co/m2mq3rKKRv

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 24, 2024

West of Bakhmut and Avdiivka:

They note that the situation on the front continues to deteriorate.

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 24, 2024

Not quite sure where this is in Ukraine:

As said, rare footage of a tank battle. A tank of the 53rd Ukrainian brigade repels an attack by three Russian tanks.https://t.co/6XwfT5H8Tf pic.twitter.com/Ju6JGcKvc7

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) March 24, 2024

Tymofiy Mylovanov, the President of the Kyiv School of Economics, has written an excellent assessment of what is actually going on. First tweet from the thread, the rest from the Thread Reader App.

Ukraine and Russia trade massive missile attacks. This might appear related to Moscow attack, but it is not.

I am in Kyiv and have just woken up (5am) by two loud explosions

Earlier tonight Ukraine successfully hit Sevastopol with multiple missiles 1/

pic.twitter.com/cFQsQzpPix

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) March 24, 2024

The Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol that hosts the Russian Black Sea fleet has been confirmed by Russian state media. There are dead and injured.

Ukrainian media report that UK made storm shadows hit a communication center of the Russia fleet 2/

This night Russia launched multiple missiles across the entire Ukraine. It is too early for videos of the damage, but explosions and interceptions are reported across the country. The attack continues

Russia used 14 strategic bombers at once, 2 warships, and drones 3/ 

At the moment, Russian missiles are in the air in these regions: Lviv, Chernihiv, Cheraksy, Kyiv, Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsya, Volyn,Ternopil, Rivne 4/ 

A moment ago, Ukrainian media reported another successful attack on Crimea. This time not in Sevastopol, but Hvardiyske 5/

This is why these exchanges are unlikely to be related to the Moscow terror attack

1. It takes considerable time to prepare attacks at this scale.

For example, Russian missiles are code to maneuver through areas without Ukrainian air defense or evade it when impossible 6/ 

They are also coordinated to hit cities at once. The missiles change directions multiple times, travel in very convoluted patterns, and stay in the air for a long time – sometimes over an hour.

Designing, coordinating, and coding these missions is hard and takes time 7/ 

The same is true for Ukrainian attacks on Crimea. Ukrainian attacks are much more focused and much smaller in scale and numbers of missiles.

To be successful Ukraine compensates by better preparation, intelligence, mission design and execution 8/ 

2. These exchanges have been ongoing and had escalated before the terror attack in Moscow

Ukraine and Kyiv in particular have been bombed intensively for the last several days, starting two days before the attack in Moscow 9/

Russian attacks before the Moscow terror have been massive and plunged Ukraine, especially the East into a blackout. They also hit the largest (remaining) hydro dam in Ukraine. The blackout is ongoing 10/

Unroll available on Thread Reader

In turn, Ukraine has been busy taking apart Russian oil refineries.

These attacks have been successful to the extent that there are reports the U.S. had asked Ukraine to stop these attacks afraid of escalation by Russia. 11/ politico.eu/article/report…

US urges Ukraine to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, report saysWashington fears rising oil prices and extra retaliation from Moscow.https://www.politico.eu/article/report-us-urges-ukraine-stop-attacking-russian-oil-refineries/

Ukraine denies there had been a request. But even if it were, Ukraine has defied it and continued to target Russian oil infrastructure. The latest attack was yesterday 12/ independent.co.uk/news/world/eur…

Fire breaks out at Russian oil refinery after Ukrainian drone attack – liveComes as Moscow launched what Kyiv has called the biggest attack of the war on Ukraine’s power grid amid fears of an escalation of the warhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-putin-drone-missiles-attacks-live-b2517524.html

Indirectly, this is evidence that Ukraine is not behind the terror attack in Moscow.

Ukraine carries out operations in Russia, including Moscow.
13/ 

Media report two types of operations:

1. Targeted assassinations of military, defectors, Russian installed politicians in occupation

2. Targeted attacks on military and defense production infrastructure

Ukraine does not and have never carried out terrorist attacks 14/ 

But as I wrote yesterday, Putin might not have a choice but to blame Ukraine for the terrorist attack in Moscow 15/

Unroll available on Thread Reader

Otherwise he will appear weak. Russians might not care about how many people die in Ukraine but they do care about what happens in Moscow.

If the attack is not connected to Ukraine, then Putin’s propaganda against Ukraine and justification for the invasion become nil 16/

So, the Russian info operations have been busy arguing Ukraine connection

One argument is that the terrorist were traveling to Ukraine. Why on earth would you do that? If anything, you are guaranteed to be captured or killed by Russian troops before you get to the contact line/

Also, the city in which the suspects were arrested is closer (and faster) to Belarus than Ukraine. Plus the border control is a bit easier (sarcasm) in Belarus than at the front line between Russia and Ukraine 18/

But as I wrote yesterday, it might be difficult to ignore the evidence. For example, the fact that ISIS has access to video from the terrorist cameras, while Russian security doesn’t (yet) 20/

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1771665904868237690

However, many people, even in the West, don’t need evidence. They are certain that it looks “increasingly likely” Ukraine is behind the attack on Moscow. 21/

There is also disinformation and amplification of disinformation.

An account post “evidence” that one of the suspects had served in Ukrainian military and is a Ukrainian citizen

No matter that all other suspects are Russian citizens and Tajiks – that doesn’t matter 22/

The report gets amplified only to be refuted later. The name of the suspect may be different, he isn’t Ukrainian, and hasn’t served in Ukraine armed forces.

But the original post pushing this disinformation gets 10s of m views, while it’s refutation – 2.7 m views

23/

Russian politicians now claim that attacks and bombings of Ukraine is a retaliation for the Moscow terror attack 24/

As the Russian attack on Ukraine continues, there are reports that three Russian missiles crossed into Poland and Polish Air Force is on alert 24/

Speaking of the tit for tat, Ukraine hit another Russian refinery:

Ukraine not paying much heed to US requests it stops its infrastructure and fuel attacks in Russia, this time attacking a plant in Samara producing rocket fuel. 900km away. And this is just the start. I understand Ukraine will soon have the ability to strike thousands of km away. https://t.co/RyMpTzEGfW

— Oliver Carroll (@olliecarroll) March 23, 2024

Here’s the machine translation of the original tweet:

The genocide of Russian refineries continues. At night, UAVs flew into the Rosneft oil refinery in the village. Novokuibyshevsk, Samara region. The impact was on the primary oil refining column. The plant is a major producer of jet fuel and is located 900 km away from Ukraine.

A bit more on Russia’s response to the Crocus disco attack:

Russia's accusation against Ukraine and the West, branding them as responsible for a terrorist attack, is a very concerning development that means further escalation and support for war within Russian society. pic.twitter.com/iw3fGkgnDM

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) March 24, 2024

Russia's NTV has broadcast a video falsely alleging that it shows Ukraine's top security official Oleksiy Danilov say Ukraine was behind last night's deadly attack at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow.

But the video is a deepfake, featuring an AI-generated audio of Danilov. pic.twitter.com/AKKuP24RBL

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) March 23, 2024

The deepfake video has in fact been created as a composite of two recent interviews published in the last few days with Danilov and Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.

An AI-generated audio of Danilov has also been dubbed over the fake video. pic.twitter.com/XMGD18owFe

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) March 23, 2024

Hrprogressive, tonight is the night I (finally) have a chance to answer your questions. So here goes!

On 17 FEB, hrprogressive (re)asked:

I want to stress that this is intended to be a good faith question, not a gotcha, or anything, I am legitimately curious.

I also apologize, if you’ve already answered me previously, I have pretty awful memory sometimes so I may legitimately not remember.

So, here goes.

Is there a reason why so many people – whether your updates here, or others around the world – seem to not want to acknowledge that there’s very likely a truth that the GOP legitimately just wants to see Russia win, and legitimately is waiting for the broader decline of western liberal democracy because they believe, hope, want to accelerate, however you wish to frame it – they basically think they deserve to be the autocratic rulers of this country, and will do whatever they can do to get it, short of assassinating their colleagues in D.C. (and I honestly don’t think we’re too far off from that if nothing changes)?

I ask because the use of framing like “dysfunction” and “intransigence” and “bad faith”, from my perception, places the root of the problem in an arena that seems to be missing the forest for the trees.

Sure, in some regards, there is “dysfunction” because there are probably – or were, anyway, till Fuhrer Trump decreed otherwise – some in the GOP (McConnell comes to mind) who legitimately wanted to help defend Ukraine.

But after years of watching the more fascist tendencies come out of the woodwork, both within their voting base, their media sphere, and their elected officials…

I’m legitimately surprised that more people are still framing it in a way that seems more akin to “Oh look it’s gridlock in Washington again” – which, again, I know that’s not how you think of it at all, but.

I’d like to think if more parties with platforms started saying “Hey, just so you know, the GOP actually wants Russia to win and they can’t wait to try and seize power here too, so maybe ask them about that”…it might sink in.

I am concerned that the apparent reticence to broach the topic in these terms is…well, it doesn’t paint nearly as dire a picture as it should, IMO.

Anyway.

Sorry for being long-winded, and I know you have a ton going on, so, I like the other Juicers do appreciate what you do. Just legitimately wondering if there’s a reason why others don’t seem to be framing the problem this way.

Thanks.

I think one part of the answer, which is the simplest part, is normalcy bias. Most people just assume or operate as if what happens is happening within the normal boundaries of politics. So if Biden, a senior member of his administration, or a Democratic senator or representative says X and Trump, one of his surrogates, or a Republican senator or representative says Y in response, then the assumption is this is just normal partisan politics. The political reporters/press, as well as the print gatekeeper The New York Times, certainly function this way as well. This is a combination of fear of being accused of being biased or liberal, needing to keep horse race coverage going, and in the case of The NY Times the very clear guidance given by the current Sulzberger running the place. This is then exploited by Trump, his surrogates, Republican senators, representatives, and governors, as well as hostile foreign actors. The goal here is to create the dynamic reflected in the title of Peter Pomarantsev’s book about Putin’s Russia: Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible. The goal is to create this reality everywhere. To ensure that nothing is true and, therefore, anything and everything is possible. The destruction of objective reality. Just refer back to the deepfakes referenced above that Moscow has pushed out to justify its claims that Ukraine was behind the attack on the Crocus disco.

On 19 MAR, hrprogressive followed up with:

Hey, Adam – I know you’ve been super, super, mega busy in the last couple of weeks, and I appreciate your continued updates throughout.

Thought this update was “on-topic” to the question I posed a while back that you had mentioned being able to circle back around to link to comment from 16 FEB thread

I just don’t see this as “The United States is Failing an Ally”.

I see this as a small band of fascist thugs in the US House of Representatives actively undermining America because their ultimate goal is to see the fall of Ukraine, the fall of the USA, and the fall of western liberal democracy, period.

I still can’t understand why so many people (not you specifically, just commentary in general) still refuse to say this out loud.

Are people really that “of course it can’t be happening here?” about it, or do they really, truly not see the threat that is right in front of them?

Time’s running out, IMO.

Certainly appreciate any insight you might be able to provide, when you have the capacity of course.

Stay well for the times we’re in. Thanks!

The United States is failing an ally. But it is failing an ally for three reasons. The first and current reason that we’re all concerned about is because the House majority GOP caucus has not brought up a supplemental bill to provide Ukraine with more aid/to meet Ukraine’s needs in its defense against Russia’s genocidal re-invasion. And they have not done this because Trump has made it clear he does not want them too. Part of that is because Trump believes he can end the war very quickly and, of course, on terms favorable to Putin. And Trump wants to do this in order to get his revenge on Zelenskyy for not playing ball in providing fabricated dirt on Biden, which led to the first impeachment of Trump. He also wants to do this to teach our NATO partners a lesson: I’ll decide if you get help, I’ll decide if you live or die, so pay me or you’re on your own.

The second and third reasons are related. They are that the Biden administration’s strategy regarding Ukraine is to do just enough so that Ukraine doesn’t lose, but not enough so that it can win. This was coupled with an unrealistic legislative strategy that despite all actual indicators that they would be able to get more aid for Ukraine regardless of which party controlled Congress. This was naive. If you recall the newsletter I did way back in the spring of 2022 when the site was being held hostage, one of the points was that Ukraine needed to ask for everything it thought it might need through the end of 2024 before the end of 2022, because if the GOP won control of just one chamber, then US aid to Ukraine would stop. It was clear then that because of the combination of extreme gerrymandering, extreme voter suppression, and state Democratic party stupidity in places like New York, the Democrats were unlikely to retain control of the House.

This is why we are where we are. The Republicans, fully in thrall to Trump, are not going to do anything for Ukraine. Honestly, they’re not going to do anything for Taiwan or Israel or in regard to the border either because Trump doesn’t want them to and because they really don’t want to even manage and mitigate those problems. When you combined this with the Biden administration, which is scared of its own shadow in regard to national security issues and naive about the Republicans willingness to do a deal once they retook the House, we are where we are.

I will leave the last words to Lewis Carrol:

“Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t much care where.
The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
Alice: …So long as I get somewhere.
The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.”

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets or videos tonight. So here’s some adjacent material.

pic.twitter.com/yKG4gFkKce

— Eugene Kibets (@eugenehmg) March 23, 2024

Open thread!